Thomas' Dragon
by sineadkfoley
Summary: Thomas has been out of action for two weeks with a broken boiler and a stuffy funnel so to cheer him up Sir Topham Hat gives him a Comodo Dragon to look after and take to Bluff' Cove, but when Percy gets a chill, in Thomas' haste to cheer his friend he loses the crate and the Dragon escapes! Will anyone believe his dragon is real?


**Thomas' Dragon**

**Chapter One**

**Thomas gets a Special**

It was a chilly January morning on the Island of Sodor. The snow had really come down on the island and poor Thomas had been hauled up in his shed with a stuffy funnel and a broken boiler from having to work extra hard to run.

Thomas still had a very red nose and rosy cheeks but his boiler was working again, he could whistle, just enough before coughing and his funnel had been cleared so Mr Topham Hatt was happy that Thomas could go out on the track again.

Percy was pleased, he'd missed his best friend but he struggled doing his own jobs as well as Thomas's jobs.

"Thomas, Paul has informed me that your whistle is opperational again, your funnel is clear and your boiler is working again, I know you're a little slow but that's probably because you haven't run for two weeks. I have a special for you"

"Thank you sir" Thomas said, "What is it?"

"I need you to collect a crate from Brendam Docks Thomas, inside that crate is a special animal for the zoo' new exotic area and its come in from the Mainland" Sir Topham Hatt said, "You're to take it straight to Bluffs Cove, where a van will be waiting to take it the rest of the way"

"Yes Sir!" Thomas beamed, "I'll go there right away"

Sir Topham Hatt looked at Percy as Percy shuddered and sneezed,

"Percy?" Sir Topham Hatt said in question

"I'm alright sir...just a bit...chilly" Percy said

"Stay in today, Gordon can do your mail run, no trips to the Castle in this weather so he's free" Sir Topham Hatt said

"Oh the indignity" He groaned

"Mail is very important Gordon" Percy said

"I'm an express train not a mail trail!" Gordon puffed before trundling out of his shed

Percy pulled a face and his driver backed him into his nice warm shed,

"Get well soon Percy" James said on his way out,

"Thank you James" Percy smiled goofily

"He's only saying that because he doesn't want to take on your jobs" Emily said as she left

"Oh" Percy sighed

When Thomas arrived at Brendam Docks there was a problem with the coupling mechanism so Thomas had time to get a close look at the crate,

"A Dragon!" Thomas exclaimed wide eyed

"Ay Thomas, a Comodo Dragon, very rare a not too friendly when hungry but you'll be fine" A Dock Worker told him.

At that moment James rolled in for his pick up of milk crates,

"What's that you got there Thomas?" James asked excited

"It's a Dragon!" Thomas said

"A Dragon!" James scoffed, "Dragons aren't real"

"They're quite real" The Dock Worker said

James frowned at the crate,

"Hmm, it's a bit small" He said

"That's because he's sleeping" The Dock Worker told him

"Is he a baby Dragon?" Thomas asked

"In a manor of speaking, he's not fully grown yet, doesn't have all his powers as it were, his mummy would be much more dangerous" The Dock Worker said with a wink, "Let's get this on the flatbed and you can go"

"I want to show Percy my special and then I'll go to Bluff's Cove" Thomas said

"Alright Thomas we can find Percy" Paul said, "But then we must go straight to Bluff' Cove"

"Percy is...!" James tried to tell Thomas as he pulled out of the Docks, "Oh dear"

**Chapter Two**

**Where's Percy?**

Thomas and Paul drove all around Sodor in search of Percy. The first train they came across was Emily, at a crossing,

"Hello Emily" Thomas said cheerfully

"Hello Thomas" Emily replied, "What's that you've got there?"

"It's a Dragon" Thomas beamed

Emily laughed, which confused Thomas,

"You are funny Thomas"

"Have you seen Percy? I want to show him my special" Thomas asked but at that moment the they were given a green light and Emily rushed off without telling him that Percy had Thomas' chill.

Thomas and Paul carried on, on their search for Percy. Next they met Henry along the forest line, they met on either side of the track and stopped for a chat,

"Hello Thomas, isn't this place wonderful? I like the snow but it's so quiet here. I just dropped off my trucks at the scrap and wanted to come back this way for a change. What are you doing out this far?" Henry asked

"I'm looking for Percy, I want to show him my special" Thomas said

"He wouldn't be out here today" Henry said thinking Thomas would know Percy had his chill

"No...I suppose your right" Thomas said

"What is your special?" Henry asked

"It's a Dragon!" Thomas said

"But Dragons are..." Henry began until he saw Paul' face, "Dangerous"

"Not this one Henry...thank you for not laughing at me" Thomas said

"Who laughed at you Thomas?" Henry asked

"Emily" Thomas said

"Never mind Thomas. Percy will be pleased you shared your special with him, especially on a day like today" Henry said and with that he left.

Thomas and Paul carried on, on their search for Percy and at the lighthouse they met Gordon.

"Hello Gordon, what are you doing here?" Thomas asked

"I'm doing Percy' jobs for him" Gordon said stuffily

"Whatever for Goron?" Thomas asked

"Percy has a chill, his boiler isn't working propperly, he couldn't warm up and was sneezing so Sir Thopham Hatt sent him back inside his shed and told him I could take his mail train" Gordon told him

"Oh" Thomas said

Thomas wanted to show Gordon his special but he didn't want Gordon to call him silly for believing he had a dragon on board and so off he went to find his best friend.

Before Thomas could get back to Tidmouth Sheds he had to go up a hill and down a hill but as he went up the hill he was uncoupled from the flatbed which rolled back down and across the railway as it's wheels slipped.

Edward was passing by at the time and Thomas gave him a toot on the way down.

Edward hit the flatbed on the way down and toppled it,

"Oh dear!" Edward said

"Not to worry Edward" His driver told him, "We'll stop in a siding and call Victor"

"But Thomas thinks he still has his special on board...he's going the wrong way too!" Edward said

"So he is" Edward' driver said

Unbeknown to Edward or his driver the crate had opened out and now the Comodo Dragon was on the loose on a farm.

Percy was rosy cheeked and had a scarf around his funnel when Thomas arrived.

Percy was pleased to see his friend,

"Oh Percy, you poor thing. I've been looking for you" Thomas said

"Really?" Percy asked

"I wanted to show you my special" Thomas said and the turn table moved round,

"Where is it?" Percy asked

"It's on the flatbed Percy" Thomas said as he came back around to face Percy

"You don't have a flatbed" Percy said

"Oh no!" Thomas panicked, "I've lost the baby dragon!"

"Baby Dragon?!" Percy exclaimed, "He's out there in this? Oh we have to find him. I'll help you look Thomas, don't worry"

"But you're not well Percy" Thomas said

"This is important" Percy sniffled

**Chapter Three**

**Everyone Looks for the Dragon**

Thomas and Percy and their drivers went all over Sodor, searching for the crate on the flatbed, carrying the dragon. The first place they tried was the dock,

"I've lost my special" Thomas told Cranky

"You had it when you left" Cranky told Thomas, "Ask James" So Thomas and Percy went off to find James but James hadn't seen his special,

"I haven't seen it on my travels Thomas" James told him, "Where did it go?"

"Yes Thomas, where did it go?" Came Sir Topham Hatt' voice as he arrived at the dock in his car, "You have caused confusion at delay and Percy, what're you doing out of your shed?"

"I wanted to help Thomas find his Dragon" Percy said

"Sir, I was here when Thomas was here and they did have trouble with the coupling sir" James' driver told Sir Topham Hatt,

"Oh well that's a start" Sir Topham Hatt said, "But it could have uncoupled anywhere, where did you go after that?"

"I'm sorry Sir, I was so excited about the dragon I wanted Percy to see it but I didn't know Percy was at the shed so I went all over Sodor to look for him" Thomas said

"Where did you stop first?" Sir Topham Hatt asked him

"The crossing, I met Emily there" Thomas told him

"We need to find this Comodo Dragon, it's very important" Sir Topham Hat said

Sir Topham Hat boarded Thomas and together, along with Percy and James they went off in search of Emily.

They found Emily at the coal station, waiting to have some trucks filled with coal,

"Emily, have you seen the dragon?" Sir Topham Hatt asked her

"But dragon' aren't real sir" Emily said

"They are real" Thomas said

"It was in a crate and now the crate is missing" Percy said

"I'm sorry, I haven't seen it but you did have a crate when I saw you earlier" Emily said

"It doesn't have any wings yet, neither does it breathe fire, it's a baby Comodo, but Comodo Dragon is a dangerous animal, espeicially when hungry" James told her

"Oh dear!" Emily gasped, "What does it look like?"

Sir Topham Hatt showed her a picture,

"We will keep an eye" Her driver said

"Where did you stop next Thomas?" Sir Topham Hatt asked

"In the woodlands, I saw Henry there" Thomas said

Sir Topham Hatt nodded for Paul to move ahead and the search continued, along with Percy and James,

"James, did you only tell me to get well so you wouldn't have to do my jobs?" Percy asked James

"Well..." James said with a guilty look, "It's just I can't go fast when I pull the mail train"

Percy smiled, sneezed and shuddered a little,

"That's OK James"

"And I don't want your cold" James added, "I don't like being stuck in the shed for days and neither does my driver...but I do want you to get better soon because you're my friend"

At that moment they all came across Henry,

"Henry, have you seen Thomas' Dragon?" Sir Topham Hatt asked

"Not as such, I saw the crate, but the crate was attached to Thomas" Henry said

"Where did you stop next?" Sir Topham Hatt asked Thomas

"I met Gordon but and then I went up the hill and down the hill...oh! I know where the Dragon is!" Thomas exclaimed,

So now Thomas, Percy, James and Henry went off in search of the Comodo Dragon but when they got to the hill the crate was nowhere to be seen, though the flatbed was in the siding,

"Oh no!" Percy exclaimed

"Someone must have taken him!" James exclaimed

"Sir!" Paul called with a point, "There's a crowd in that field over there, maybe they saw something, this is our flatbed, I note the plate number"

So Sir Topham Hatt and Paul and James' driver went across to where the crowd was gathered on the field. They were called to stop and that's when Paul saw it,

"Wow...he's enormous" Paul said

"And dangerous, we're just waiting for the zoo keeper specialist. What happened?" The farmer asked

"A problem with the coupling, it's this snow and ice we've had. Looks lovely but it causes so many problems when it falls on the island" Paul said

Paul, James' driver and Percy' driver took photos to show Thomas, James and Percy and left, while Sir Topham Hatt waited for the specalist from the zoo.

**Chapter Four**

**Dragons do Exists**

That night the photos went around the shed but Thomas found himself teased when he realised this animal was a lizard with dragon for a title in his name.

Thomas was upset and all day next day he just looked at the track and wouldn't even whistle for the children on the bridge,

"What's wrong with Thomas today?" Sir Topham Hatt' neice asked Millie at the next station along

"Oh, there's a new lizard at the zoo but it's called a Comodo Dragon. Thomas thought he had a Dragon, that breathes fire and has wings on board and now all the other trains have been teasing him" Millie said, "Apart from Percy anyway"

James rolled into the station,

"Hello Peggy, hello Millie, guess what I found at Ulfsted Castle?" He asked

"Why're you up at Ulfsted Castle James?" Millie asked

"Gordon has a Percy' chill and some visitors braved the weather" Jame' driver said

"We found a dragon!" James grinned

"James, poor Thomas is sad enough" Millie said

"He wouldn't even whistle today!" Sir Topham Hatt' neice said

"I wasn't teasing, in fact I know just how to make the other trains stop teasing and cheer up Thomas at the same time but I'm going to need some human help, will you help me?" James asked

"Of course!" Millie said

"We'll have to go fast, to get things ready, I have Percy' mail train to pull too" James said, "He's still in his shed"

"I wouldn't expect anything less" Millie smiled as she boarded James' carriage

As they reached the castle James explained,

"It was Millie the train that told me about the dragon. It's here for the tourists to look at on a magical tour of the grounds but it only runs in the spring and the summer so they put this dragon in the shed"

"Well I'll be" Millie smiled as they rolled into the shed, "You sure they won't mind us borrowing it?"

"Already signed it off" James' driver said.

That night when all the trains were in their shed a light lit up the wall on the side, right in view of all the trains, and there on the wall was the shadow of a dragon, flapping it's wings.

"Thomas! Percy! James! Thank you for finding my baby" The dragon shadow said in a voice very similar to Sir Topham Hatt.

Thomas giggled and Percy bought every second of it,

"You're welcome" Thomas said, "Who...told the dragon about us?" Thomas asked

"I did" James beamed, "I believed in him the whole time"

"Thank you James" Thomas smiled

As Millie, Paul, James' driver and Sir Topham Hatt joined the trains a shadow that looked like a dragon flew overhead,

"Cool trick!" Emily said

"That wasn't us" Millie said seriously

Now all the trains knew what Thomas had known all along. His dragon may have been a big lizard without wings or fire for breath but Dragons were real!

**The End**


End file.
